Alpine skiing (also known as downhill skiing) and snowboarding are popular sports and hobbies shared by millions of people throughout the world. Typically, however, these sports require access to expensive sporting hardware and winter clothing and travel to select regions, as alpine skiing and snowboarding require cold climates and high elevations to create the requisite snow surface on an inclined trail (for example, on hills and/or mountains) necessary for downhill skiing or snowboarding.
Alpine skiing is typically characterized by skis with fixed-heel bindings. Generally, alpine skis are not used for walking or hiking, unlike cross-country skis which are typically characterized by free-heel bindings. However, some alpine skiers employ poles for assistance with short distance locomotion, walking, skating, steering, balance, etc. Typically, alpine skiers rely on mechanical assistance to reach the top of a hill. At ski resorts, services such as ski lifts are provided, while back-country skiers rely on helicopters or snowcats, if not hiking, to transport them to a ski site. These forms of assistance in snowy regions can be cost-prohibitive, subject to narrow time windows, and time-consuming, particularly during a region's “busy season”.
Snowboarding is typically characterized by a board which glides downhill on snow and on which the snowboarder stands with feet substantially transverse to the longitude of the board. Commercial snowboards generally require equipment such as bindings and special boots which secure both feet of a snowboarder to the board. As with alpine skis, snowboards are generally not used for walking or hiking, and snowboarders generally rely on mechanical assistance to reach the top of a hill.